Burning Bright
by The Rockerbabe
Summary: My mama told me when I was young/Said sit beside me, my only son/And listen closely to what I say/And if you do this, it’ll help you some sunny day: With those words, he rose like a phoenix into mega-stardom with the name Bucky Kentucky. Lackson!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Hannah Montana does not belong to me. Neither does the lyrics to _Simple Man_ by Shinedown. But this idea does! Enjoy!

Burning Bright

I couldn't sleep. Miley, though, was dead to the world. We had down two huge bags of M & Ms and a two liter of Cherry-Vanilla Dr. Pepper during a "Girly Movie Marathon" that had started with "The Holiday" and ended with "Bring it On" and lasted six hours. It was funny how no matter how much sugar she had; Miley could fall asleep in an instant. While me, on the other hand wouldn't be able to sleep until a day later.

I got out of bed and left Miley's room. I headed down the hall when the sounds of a guitar playing out on the balcony. I walked out onto it, expecting to see Mr. Stewart but instead, I found Jackson. He was absently strumming an acoustic guitar as he stared out at the ocean.

"Jackson?" I said softly as I approached, "What are you doing out here?"

He stopped strumming and turned his face my way. He looked tired and a bit sad.

"Nothin'." he answered, "Just thinkin'."

"About what?" I asked, sitting down next to him.

"My mom." He admitted quietly, "I had a dream about her."

I reached out and touched his hand. He took my hand and squeezed it.

"It was good to see her again." Jackson said with a sad smile.

I nodded, not knowing what else I could do. In the last couple of months, I had gotten closer to Jackson. It was nice. He was always there when I needed him and hung out with me even if Miley wasn't home. One day it had hit me that I was beginning to fall in love with him. It scared me that no other guy could turn my head and could make me smile like he could. But Jackson, being Jackson, had a girlfriend and I wasn't one of those girls that would make a move on a taken man.

So, I had to sit on the sidelines and just watch. Which was okay, for now at least. A gentle breeze blew and I heard the sounds of rustling papers. I looked down on the small table and saw some sheet music. I picked it up and looked at it. The paper was written on, music notes flowing from bar to bar. Lyrics were scribbled in Jackson's sloppy scrawl.

"Are you writing a song?" I asked.

He took the papers from me and looked at them, a wistful smile on his lips.

"In the dream, I heard music." Jackson looked up at me, "It was like she was telling me to write this."

"Can I hear it?" I asked hopefully.

"I don't know if I could even sing it." He replied with a small laugh, "But for you, I'll try."

Jackson adjusted the guitar and placed the music down in front of him. He bobbed his head to a rhythm only he could hear and then began to play.

"My mama told me when I was young

Said sit beside me, my only son

And listen closely to what I say

And if you do this, it'll help you some sunny day

Oh yeah, it will

Oh, take your time, don't live too fast

Troubles will come and they will pass

You'll find a woman and you'll find love

And don't forget there is a someone up above

And be a simple kind of man

And be something you'll love and understand

Baby, be a simple kind of man

Oh, won't you do this for me son, if you can?

Then you can…"

Tears filled my eyes. The song was amazing. It was bittersweet and his voice…his _voice_ made chills run down my spine. His eyes met mine and he smiled.

"Don't get you lust from the rich man's gold

All that you need now is in your soul

And you can do this, oh baby if you try

All that I want from you, my son is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man

And be something you'll love and understand

Baby be a simple kind of man

Oh won't you do this for me son if you can

If you can

Oh don't you worry, you'll find yourself

Follow your heart and nothing else

And you can do this, oh baby if you try

All that I want from you my son, is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man

Be something you'll love and understand

Baby be a simple kind of man

Oh won't you do this for me son if you can?

So baby be a simple, be a simple man

Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can?"

By the time he had finished, there were tears in his eyes too. Jackson put down the guitar and music and looked at me with an almost embarrassed smile.

"So, what did you think?" he asked, clearing his throat.

I couldn't help it. I burst into tears. Jackson looked alarmed.

"Sorry!" I managed to get out, "It was beautiful."

He laughed softly and moved closer to me. He put his arm around my shoulders.

"Thanks, Truscott." Jackson murmured, placing a kiss on the top of my head.

Damn him having a girlfriend. If he wasn't involved with whatever-her-name-was, I would have kissed him.

"So." He said after a minute, "Want to have something to eat with me?"

I looked at him. "Do I ever turn down food?"

"Nope and that's one of the things I like about you."

He got up and made his way down stairs. I followed after him, joining him in the kitchen. I boosted myself up on the counter and watched as he got some food out of the fridge.

"So," I said, "how things with what's-her-name?"

Jackson glanced at me and chuckled, placing a plate of chicken on the counter next to me.

"It's what's-her-_face_, actually, and I ended it."

He shut the fridge and mulled over the ingredients.

"How come?" I asked.

"There was no spark." Jackson answered simply, "She was hot, granted, but there was nothing there."

"Since when do you need more than a pretty face?" I teased gently.

"Hey." He mock-cried, clutching his hand over his heart, "You wound me."

"Aw." I gave him my best pout, "My bad."

Jackson laughed. "I've been getting my priorities in order lately."

"Wow." I was amazed, "I like this new side of you. More mature. More…"

"Dashing?" he suggested.

"More _you._ The real you."

He smiled at me, a brilliant smile.

"When did you get so astute?" he asked with a grin.

"I've always been this way." I replied, "You just never noticed."

Jackson turned back to the food and I could have sworn I heard him say:

"That's not the only thing I never noticed."

I smiled and hopped down from the counter. Jackson got down to business and I helped with what I could. Soon, we had a chicken stir-fry ready to eat. We sat down on the couch and Jackson turned on the TV. I took a bite of the stir fry. I moaned in delight. He stopped, lowered it bowl, and stared at me.

"Are you alright?" He asked, sounded slightly alarmed.

"Yeah!" I said enthusiastically, "This is delicious! You're a wonderful cook!"

"Why, thank you" he said in his Elvis voice, "Thank you very much."

Hours later, we were still awake. The sun was coming up over the ocean. We sat together on the couch, talking quietly as the sun rose. Sleep wore down on me and I leaned against the cushions. I saw Jackson smile and I heard his voice.

"Tired there, Lils?"

"Mmm." Was all I could get out.

I felt his arm sneak around my shoulders and him pulling me against him. Unconsciousness over took me and I slept a dreamless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

In the morning, I awoke, feeling rested…and trapped. I opened my eyes and found myself sleeping on top of Jackson, his arms locked around my waist. My eyes found his face and saw that he was asleep. Aw. He looked so cute. I laid there and enjoyed being in his arms. I heard footsteps close to us and looked up. Miley stood behind the couch, looking down at me. An amused look lit her face.

"You got it baaad!" She sang quietly in a sing-song voice.

"Huh?" Jackson mumbled.

"Nothing, bro." Miley replied, "But you might want to shower…you have a little Lilly on you."

"Huh?" He said sleepily, then looked down at me, "Mornin' Milady."

"Morning." I replied, smiling.

Jackson gave me a little squeeze and released me. I got up and stretched, my body slightly stiff. Miley was in the kitchen, standing in front of the open fridge. Jackson headed upstairs and I watched after him, wondering if he'd ever feel the same way for me as I did for him. I shook it off and joined Miley in the kitchen. She pulled out the orange juice and I grabbed two glasses from the cabinet.

She poured us some and returned the juice to the fridge. I took a drink and watched as Mr. Stewart approached the door. He carried a newspaper and was scanning through the articles as he walked into the house. Jackson came back down the stairs. He looked nervous. I gave him a smile, hoping that it would give him courage. He smiled back and approached his dad.

"Hey, dad?" he said, stuttering slightly.

"Yeah, son?"

"Uh, um, nevermind." Jackson looked down and wouldn't meet my eyes.

I went over to Jackson and elbowed him.

"You can do this!" I whispered.

"I can't!" he replied.

"I'll do it then." I sighed, stepping away from him and towards his dad, "Mr. Stewart?"

"Yeah, Lil?"

"Jackson wrote a song." I said quickly.

The man stopped, turned, his attention completely on us. Miley, too, in the kitchen, stopped drinking her glass of juice.

"Is this true, boy?" Mr. Stewart asked.

"Yeah, Dad, it's true." Jackson said.

"Well, let's hear it!" He replied, clapping his hands together.

"Yeah!" Miley echoed, "This should be…interesting." Her voice held no scoff, just curiosity.

Jackson grabbed the acoustic guitar from its stand and sighed. He sat down in the arm chair and strummed the guitar, making sure it was in tune. He played the opening cords and began to sing.

"My mama told me when I was young

Said sit beside me, my only son

And listen closely to what I say

And if you do this, it'll help you some sunny day

Oh yeah, it will

Oh, take your time, don't live too fast

Troubles will come and they will pass

You'll find a woman and you'll find love

And don't forget that there is a someone up above

And be a simple kind of man

And be something you'll love and understand

Baby, be a simple kind of man

Oh, won't you do this for me son, if you can?

Then you can

Don't get you lust from the rich man's gold

All that you need now is in your soul

And you can do this, oh baby if you try

All that I want from you, my son is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man

And be something you'll love and understand

Baby be a simple kind of man

Oh won't you do this for me son if you can

If you can

Oh don't you worry, you'll find yourself

Follow your heart and nothing else

And you can do this, oh baby if you try

All that I want from you my son, is to be satisfied

And be a simple kind of man

Be something you'll love and understand

Baby be a simple kind of man

Oh won't you do this for me son if you can?

So baby be a simple, be a simple man

Oh, won't you do this for me son if you can?"

He stopped and looked at his dad and sister. I looked at them too. They both had tears in their eyes. Mr. Stewart cleared his throat and was the first to speak.

"You sure have something there, my boy." He said with a smile, "What made you write it?"

"Mom." He admitted, "I dreamt about her the other night and I heard that song in my dream…and others too."

"That was really good, Jackson." Miley said with a nod, "You really should record it or something."

"You think so?" He asked.

"Totally." She replied, "It'll be a mega-hit."

Jackson smiled it relief and I did a little happy dance over to him and gave him a brief hug.

"So, what now?" I asked everyone.

Miley looked at her dad and they got a sly smile on their faces.

"We have to make you a star, bro."

"Oh, sweet nibblets." Jackson muttered.


End file.
